Page 40 of Blue Eyes & Paris Vibes

"Hey," I protest weakly and cross my arms in front of my chest as I sit back down on the uncomfortable chair.

She takes a long sip of her water before giving me a long look. "You're still thinking about her, aren't you? Your Paris girl."

I return her curious look. Our family isn’t usually big on sharing thoughts or feelings. No, we bottle them up and let them brew until they’re about to explode. And only then we will talk about them, usually ending in a heated fight, sometimes with fists flying.

That’s the way it always was, at least. But then again, that's exactly what Adam is trying to fix.

So I take a deep breath and wipe my clammy palms on my jeans.

"Yeah," I admit softly, my hands starting to play with the hem of my shirt nervously. "Yeah, I do."

"So… are you still counting on the universe?" Amusement drips from her voice and when I glance at her, I see her lips stretch into a smile. “Or is it already time for my ‘I told you so?’”

“I might’ve done a thing or two to help the universe along,” I admit it, clearing my throat nervously and ignoring her giggle, turning into a groan when the movement makes her move her arm.

"Ouch.” She grimaces and the big brother in me wants to jump up again or call one of the nurses in for pain killers. Her narrow eyes keep me in my seat, though. “Don't make me beg for scraps here, Reed, what did you do?"

"I tried the good old Google route," I explain, shaking my head in disappointment. "Turns out, a lot of Abby’s live in London.”

"Yeah, who could’ve thought?" Zoey says, voice dripping with sarcasm, and I narrow my eyes at her.

“I scrolled through the first thousand of them before I gave up," I say, sticking out my tongue at her. "It was worth a try."

"Anything else?" She tries to cross her arms in front of her chest, until she remembers that one of them is in a cast. When I bite my lip to keep from chuckling, she shoots me a glare, so I quickly continue before she scolds me.

"Oh God, this is so dumb," I say, hiding my face behind my hand. "I tried to draw her so I could put her face into an image search."

"You tried to—?" Zoey’s eyes widen in disbelief before she schools her face again, the corners of her mouth twitching. "And did that work?"

"Obviously not." I shake my head and sigh.

"But you gave her your number, didn’t you? Did she never reach out?"

"No," I admit, my heart sinking. "And trust me, I've been racking my head over it. I was so sure she would.”

“Maybe her phone broke? But then again, she could also Google you," Zoey points out, tapping the fingers of her healthy hand against her cast.

"I suppose. But then again there’s the thing with my job."

She moves her arm and grimaces. I just know she tried to cross her arms over her chest again. "What about your job?"

"I… might not have told her everything," I admit, nervously scratching my neck. "For all she knew, I was a consultant."

"Consultant?" Zoey’s eyes widen, then she bursts into a giggle. "You? Consulting? Oh my God."

"Hey!" I look around for something small to throw at her. "Technically,I have knowledge. I could totally be a consultant if I wanted to."

"Well yes, of modeling, maybe, though that would put you more in ‘coach’ territory," she says, still amused. "And I’m sure you’d be damn good at it. But like,company consultant?With your measly business degree and no work experience in the field? Sorry, but that’s hilarious."

"Why, thank you. For believing in me," I say dryly, but it only makes her laugh harder.

“Have you considered that maybe she found out about your job, and well, everything—” she makes a vague gesture, “and became too overwhelmed to reach out?”

“No, I haven’t,” I say truthfully, pinching the bridge of my nose. I convinced myself that Abby saw more in me than Reed the model. “I can’t imagine it would make her look at me differently though.”

"Sure,” she says skeptically, and I gnaw on my lip. Fuck. I should have just asked for her number. “So what's your plan, lover boy? Are you giving up?"

"I don’t really know what other choice I have," I admit but Zoey shakes her head vehemently.

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